Marketing Orders and Agreements

Building better capabilities to meet food safety requirements

By MICHAEL DuraNDO, DirRECTOR, MARKETING ORDER AND
AGREEMENT DvvIsION, SPECIALTY Crops PROGRAM, USDA.

competition in the U.S. produce industry leads to innovations and efficiencies

( meant to make one company more successful than another. As growers and han-
dlers of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other specialty products, there are federal

marketing orders and marketing agreements available to help the entire industry compete

more effectively in the marketplace.

OVERCOMING BARRIERS AND OBSTACLES

Food marketers are susceptible to a range of economic factors that impact the mar-

ketability and profitability of their products. Regional and commodity segments work
aggressively to resolve barriers to global markets and address food safety issues that continu
ally evolve and present challenges to a new generation of industry members.
& Sales barriers can be resolved by companies working together and contributing resources
to a common goal, Federal marketing orders and marketing agreements provide a frame-
work for growers and handlers to come together to discuss issues of mutual concern and
develop strategies to fix them.

Elanor Starmer, administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service, part of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), agrees and believes these agreements “enable growers
and handlers to work together to improve the competitive profile of their own industry”
and in turn, can help all companies selling a particular product succeed,

HOW MARKETING ORDERS & AGREEMENTS WORK

Commodity groups choosing to operate under a marketing order or agreement do so
with a board or committee that generally consists of growers and handlers who represent the
industry's best interests. The boards and committees meet periodically to develop strategies
for resolving industry situations. Once the board or committee agrees on a path to move
forward, it provides a “justification” or plan to the USDA for consideration.

Just as the USDA may implement industry-requested regulation after considering
public input and research, producers decide whether to implement a marketing order that
determines how shippers, brokers, processors, and other handlers place their product into
commerce. Handlers or suppliers, however, decide whether to enter into a marketing agree-
ment themselves. Any marketing order or agreement applies to the handling of the specific
product after it leaves the production facility, as it is placed in commercial channels.
© Each program is customized to meet the needs of a specific industry, Handling
regulations may have provisions that require grading and inspection services to meet mini-
mum standards, or standardized packaging and labeling of containers to boost consumer
awareness of a product.

www.producebluebook.com

Marketing orders and agreements can
provide new opportunities for commodity
groups:
5 by eliminating sales barriers
creating a customized program to
meet specific needs
putting safeguards in place for
food safety
providing a flexible framework to
handle current and future needs.

To learn more about each key element, look
for the @=! symbols throughout the article.

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While competition has
always been the hallmark of
the U.S. free market economy,
sometimes partnering with others
will boost a commodity group's
opportunities for success.

Oct/Nov/Dec 2016 | Blueprints — 87


TE Government Views

Efforts can be undertaken to conduct
production research projects, or create
market research and product promotion
activities. In addition, the committee
or board can, with the input of industry
members, increase or decrease the amount
of product allowed into commercial chan-
nels during periods of exceedingly high or
low volume.

The role of the USDA is to monitor
compliance, in partnership with the board
or committee staff who collect the data pro-
vided by handlers. When a board or com-
mittee reports noncompliance, the USDA
will investigate.

“Compliance is a vital part of our mar-
keting order, because it ensures the integrity
of the regulations our Florida avocado
producers voted into place,” comments
Alan Flynn, manager of the Avocado
Administrative Committee.

FOOD SAFETY PROTOCOLS
AND COMPLIANCE

One task ahead for the produce industry
is to demonstrate compliance with the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Produce Safety Rule. For decades, food com-

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SUGAR SNAP PEAS

Fax: (416) 259- 4
165 The Queensway, suite 249
Toronto, Ontario M8Y 1H8

88 — Blueprints | Oct/Nov/Dec 2016

CHOU ERISE

panies had the option of following FDA
guidelines that are now becoming science-
based sanitation and food safety standards.

The FDA’s transition from voluntary
guidelines to formal regulations is changing
the processes through which raw produce
items are grown, harvested, packed, stored,
transported, and otherwise handled to
reduce or eliminate contamination through
documented standards.

The USDA’s role in enforcing compliance
through marketing orders and agreements
can help growers demonstrate whether they
have the necessary production and handling
safeguards in place to satisfy FDA require-
ments. Marketing agreements can show the
EDA that processors, packers, brokers, and
other handlers are in compliance with the
Produce Safety Rule by detailing these proce-
dures and protocols for the harvest, handling,
storage, and transportation of product.
© Safeguards could include using manda-
tory inspection as a way to verify food safety
and requiring control measures and container
requirements on outgoing shipments to
verify the cleanliness of containers.

A number of commodity groups have
been proactive in ensuring safeguards are
in place to comply with FDA requirements.

one A
s EPI NACH

www.vegpakproduce.com
resh.ca

‘The Almond Board of California is an excel-
lent example of how an industry can fund
research and train growers for the changes
created by the Produce Safety Rule and Best
Practices for Manufacturing,

Other marketing order groups for avoca-
dos, cherries, cranberries, oranges, pears,
table grapes, onions, and tomatoes have
worked with the USDA to create a combina-
tion of food safety, food quality, and related
research authorities. Marketing order boards
and committees can also serve as the organ-
ized training platform to help implement
FDA regulations.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:
KNOW YOUR OPTIONS

‘With the FDA's support and encourage-
ment, USDA marketing orders and agree-
ments are available to industries that want to
build a framework for success through com-
pliance with food safety requirements.

Now is the time to begin a dialogue with
USDA; agency specialists are cager to meet
with growers and handlers in all areas to share
information and discuss program options.

And while competition has always

been the hallmark of the U.S. free market
economy, with businesses of all types and
sizes vying for success, sometimes partnering
with others will boost a commodity group's
opportunities for success.
SS Marketing orders and agreements are
flexible enough to fix situations now and to
position commodity groups for future
accomplishments. They can create efficiencies
in marketing specialty crops, and make the
industry more profitable as a whole, strength-
ening the economic foundation of rural
communities. Through these programs,
the USDA continues to “help farmers help
themselves” and supports the Agricultural
Marketing Service's mission. El

Michael Durando serves the USDA as the
director of its Marketing Order and
Agreement Division in the Agricultural
Marketing Service. In this capacity, he over-
sees the administration of 46 regulatory pro-
grams, including 29 federal marketing
orders for fruits, vegetables, and specialty
crops and 14 related import programs, two
inspection programs for exported apples and
table grapes, and the U.S, Peanut Standards
compliance program.